The program of the concert features Symphony No. 2 in C minor “Resurrection” by Gustav Mahler, one of the masterpieces of late Romanticism and one of the most monumental compositions written in the second half of the 19th century. The Polish National Youth Choir and Sinfonia Iuventus will perform.

The process of creating the Second was extremely long and arduous. The work was written over the course of six years, from 1888 to 1894. In letters to friends, as well as in the programme of one of the early performances, you can find Mahler’s comments revealing what events the music was supposed to talk about. Mahler’s Second Symphony consists of five movements. The first three are instrumental. The violent first movement describes the protagonist’s dilemmas and struggles, and its motto is the question of life after death. The light, danceable second movement is a look at the lost years of youth. The ghostly third movement, using elements of klezmer music, illustrates the doubt engulfing the protagonist caught in the vortex of everyday activities. In the fourth, shortest movement, entitled Primordial Light, the composer used a text from the collection of German folk poetry Des Knaben Wunderhorn. It is a moment of returning to a naive, trusting attitude. The monumental finale ends with an apotheosis, for which the artist used the full orchestra, including the organ, two solo voices, and a choir. The musical themes presented in the previous movements return. In several places, the listener is surprised by the sounds of two bands playing military music, placed outside the stage and intertwined with the music being played by the orchestra on the stage. Despite its length, the multitude of themes and the level of complexity, Symphony No. 2 has enjoyed great popularity since its premiere in 1895.

This mighty work will be interpreted by young performers. The Polish National Youth Choir is an educational and artistic project involving music school pupils and conservatoire students aged eighteen to twenty-six. Its aim is to raise the level of professional choral singing in Poland. The Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra is an ensemble founded in 2007 by the legendary conductor Jerzy Semkow. The orchestra consists of the most talented graduates of music academies, aged below 30. Both ensembles performed together for the first time in 2021, when under the baton of Andrzej Kosendiak they interpreted Joseph Haydn’s The Creation.